


Three days and nights in the Snow Field

by AliceAmy



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Happy Ending, M/M, Time Travel, back to 1944, history unchanged
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-06
Updated: 2017-07-14
Packaged: 2018-11-28 13:02:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11418531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AliceAmy/pseuds/AliceAmy
Summary: With the invention of the technique of time travel, Steve was picked up as the first human to travel through time, and he decided to travel back to the day Bucky fell off the train and accompany him until he was discovered by the soldiers of former Soviet Union. Three days and nights he spent in the snow field…





	1. Prelude

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [雪地的三个昼夜](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/305184) by 纳兰妙殊. 



Prelude

 

It’s 15th June 2015, I will take the time machine to travel back to seventy years ago to meet Bucky Barnes, to be exact, the Bucky Barnes of 7th Feb. 1944, the day he fell off the train. You can see the number after his name on the board in the museum, the second one.

 

When I got up this morning, I told myself that I shall not be nervous, but still, I cut my chin when shaving with an old-fashioned razor.

 

Some day long long ago, Bucky grinned at me, saying that one day, Steve Rogers would become the walking character of the almighty American Spirits, that I shall be the pioneer of all walks of life. ‘They would make you the first to break the sonic barrier, the first to conquer the Qomolangma, the first to step onto the moon…’ I remember my answer to this was that I would only hope to be the first one who kiss you when we win the war.

 

He didn’t witness our victory, though.

 

I’m not almighty, that I didn’t catch him, when he fell from my life.

 

–Looking back, however, the ‘first kiss’ word was an ominous one. In _Judges_ , the first to kiss Jephtah after the victory of the war, was his most beloved daughter, and he finally killed his daughter with his own hands, as a gift to Jehovah.

 

–I, too, did the same thing: he followed me to his death. It was me that sent him right into the hand of Hydra. And all those accomplishments he mentioned, the breaking of sonic barrier, the conquer of Qomolangma, the moon travel...I didn’t fulfil any of them. If we have to talk about ‘the first one’, I guess I’d be the first one to live on seventy years with a broken heart.

 

But he was right about the pioneer things. Whenever human participant is needed in a great experiment, I was always the best one to answer the call. That’s why I wasn’t surprised at all, when I first faced the oven-like time travel machine half a month back. Tony Stark emerged from behind the machine, asking the never changing word as his opening. ‘Any news from “that man”?’

 

The one he referred to was ‘Winter Soldier’, who appeared and disappeared in last year’s fight like a ghost.

 

I said calmly. ‘No.’

 

Bucky didn’t die at that day, though, yet I know not that if he would rather die than suffering from later pain. I could not even dare to believe that what lost would be back again, though sometimes I could feel its presence several feet above, using the tip of its wings to sooth my forehead, when I was tortured most by guilt and longing.

 

Tony nagged a lot few days before the experiment began: at the moment, only with the knowledge of exact place and time could time travel do; we’ve already sent back a bunny, a dog and a monkey, which all came back healthy and sound, pity they could not write a journal about time travel; you have to be back at the place of your ‘landing’ after 72 hours; you cannot meet your past self, cannot carry what is beyond the technique of that time, cannot disturb the history…

 

I listened silently.

 

The good news is, I could pick the time and place to ‘land’ as I wish.

 

‘Are you sure, that you would like to be back at that day, even with the knowledge of nothing could be changed?’ Tony asked me.

 

‘I never fancied that I could stop Bucky become Winter Soldier,’ I said. ‘Isn’t it the most suitable place to go? No one there except for Bucky, who will later forget everything.’

 

According to the files of Winter Soldier which was acquired and decoded later, Sergeant James Barnes spent nearly four days in the snow field before he was discovered by the Soviet Union, alone.

 

It was me that left him there.

 

Since the result cannot be varied, I’d like to be there to make his accompany at least for the last 72 hours.

 

‘If looked chronologically, did it already happened, me going back?’ I asked at the final moment.

 

Tony stood behind the closing door of the machine, wearing his unusual serious expression. ‘Yes.’

 

With the disappearance of light, I heard the sound of thunder, and the feeling of being torn apart overwhelmed me. Unpleasant sounds beyond description. I lost sight, breath, as if I was falling at a tremendous speed, or shot into the sky high above my head. Dazzling light came and went, and finally I was thrown off by a great power.

 

Grey and white filled my sight in a sudden, all molecules of my flesh and bones gathered violently in an instant. With a big ‘bang’, I fell into the snow without preparation.

 

Every part of my body screaming painfully. Harsh sounds disappeared and everything went quiet. Too quiet that it became a little bit scary. With sounds still ringing in my ears, I lie on the ground, unable to move, and spat out the snow and soil in my mouth, hearing my own panting.

 

No sun, no light, I was in the snow field of the cedars, 1944, where the nightmare of Bucky and I had begun.

 

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

1944

 

Day 1

 

I stumbled to get up. Looking around, I found oaks and spruces, but Bucky was nowhere in sight.

 

What happened? …he should have been around here. The Soviet Union’s record about his finding place was not exact yet shouldn’t be far.

 

The only explanation was that there’s something wrong about my ‘landing’ place. The fact struck me with fear, if time’s inaccurate as well……

 

Drawing a deep breath, I looked up, shouting: ‘Bucky!’ A flock of crows scared by my cry flew up into the sky, cracking, melting snow mingled with mud took the chance and slipped into my throat, tasted bitterly. Snow dropped off from the trees.

 

Thinking positively, if there wasn’t much wrong in the process of time travel, I should have been at the west side of the cliff where the accident took place. I marked several trees near the ‘landing’ place, and walked towards east.

 

I said ‘walked’, but what I meant was running with even speed.

 

Several hours later, a sense of strange tiredness rose from my feet, and slow me down. Tony used to warn me, that they were not sure if I could maintain my four-time strength after the travel. And now it became crystal clear that due to the disintegration, recombination, transmission and collision during the process, my strength had suffered from serious losses, what’s worse, without supplement, that is, high-calorie food, I lost the ability of recovering in a short period of time.

 

Thankfully there were places where woods had not been that thick, and with the help of reflected light from the snow, I can make more clear way. With wind howling above my head, I strode across the dry river bed which was filled with snow, and skipped those falling huge trees… Some animals – grey squirrels, rex – searching food I met when striding through the woods, but they all glanced at me and disappeared in an instant.

 

Then again I walked past an animal skeleton which had no flesh left, a skeleton which used to belong to a black-tailed buck. I squatted and made an observation of the bite marks on the bones. According to the depth of scraping and the width of chin, I supposed it was not lynx or other carnivores, but wolves.

 

And not one wolf, apparently, but a pack of wolves, for some of the marks shows that there were traces of pups, which had not grown to age.

 

I stood up slowly, and looked at what remained of the buck. You can still see that it was a beautifully-built animal even after its death. It is said that when a herd of deer encountered a pack of wolves, the bravest buck would deliberately fell behind or ran to another direction, to distract the wolves.

 

Sort of…sign.

 

Snowflakes started to fall again. What soft and cruel snowflakes, falling from goose-grey sky silently, into the silky quietness.

 

Five hours later, I found him at somewhere near the cliff. I saw his blue coat and brown hair from afar, nearly kneeling when I first took that in sight.

 

He lay on his stomach there, snow covering his body and hair, hard to distinguish for the field. The sight attacked me like an arrow on my heart.

 

Seventy years ago, I had seen the sight in my dreams for far too many times, and I’d made enough mental preparation before the time travel. I thought, I could at least accept it without heart aching like this, but imagination can never compare with reality.

 

Coldness stuck in my throat, smothering me. It’s an old scar, yet aching as if newly made. Seventy years I bore it, but in actual time it had just happened. Blood flooding from the scar, hurt as if I’d never hurt before.

 

I rushed there with limp legs, tripped by something under the snow several feet away. I, however didn’t even take time to stand up, but rushing ahead with my upper torso, and stumbled to him, calling his name. ‘Bucky, Bucky, Bucky…’ I didn’t really notice that I was calling him, but I did, as if by calling him I can stop him from bleeding.

 

The last step, last step…with the help of wind, tears flew faster than me, melting holes on his snowy back. I kneeled beside his body, leaning close and wrapped his shoulders, face against his hair. A terrible cut on the back of his head. Bloody ice frozen with his brown hair. I kissed the cut, thought wandering for a moment. _It’ Okay, Bucky, no matter what happened, as long as you are with me, we have the chance to fight back, haven’t we?_...

 

He didn’t wake up, however, he just slept silently.

 

Tear dropped off my eyes, cold as ice, frosting on my face.

 

I wiped off the tears after feeling calmer, holding his shoulders and carefully turned him atop. There was a track of groping in the wake of him, obviously he had scrambled some way from his landing place.

 

Much to my surprise, I found that his doomed left arm was still with him. _What happened?_ I stared at it for a while before realised that it was apparently broken, and because of low temperature, his limb had suffered from serious frostbite, with bruised fingers and palm, even gangrene appeared on the back of his hand.

 

There were frostbites on his cheekbone and tip of nose as well. The falling had just taken place for 24 hours, if counted by actual time, yet his healthy round face had already turned gaunt, as if chopped by knife.

 

I held his upper torso, but he was unconscious. He leaned on my shoulder, neck powerlessly hit my arm, and his head dangled lifelessly. I touched his forehead with my hand, wiped snow and mud off, and made my cheek against his. His skin was cold as ice, compared with my warmth, as if he had already passed away. I carried on calling his name. ‘Bucky! ...’

 

Several minutes later, he finally came into conscious.

 

Suddenly I was struck by fear, too scared to move. The only thing I can do was waiting, listening to his rasp gasp and groan. After a while, his frosted eyelashes shivered and he opened his eyes. At first, he was focus-less, as if blind, seconds later, faint lights concentrated in his eyes.

 

Winkles rippled around his eyes and mouth, was he smiling? He had some difficulties in parting his lips, though he managed it. His murmur was so low that it heard like moaning, and wind seemed to bring away his words, yet I made it out. He was saying. ‘Hey, Steve,’

 

I said quietly. ‘Hey,’

 

He waited for a while to gather the strength for the second sentence. ‘Your shield…was not almighty as it seemed,’

 

‘Yeah, I’d have Howard mend it later.’

 

‘I know you would be here for me, I know it,’ He slowly licked off the bloody frost on his lips, breathing the cold air. ‘But you were late, were you? Buddy, I waited…to sleeping.’

 

Then he smiled feebly, or sleepy, I cannot tell.

 

I smiled to him as well, grinning, to be exact. It was a hopeful smile, like before, but my cheeks were aching, and if not them, I would not be able to hold my tears.

 

Yes, I was late, too late. I was late for seventy years, but I finally found you, Bucky, even seventy years later, I finally got to you, again.

 

TBC


End file.
